Bloody violence (“Django Unchainedâ€) and dirty actors singing (“Les Misérablesâ€) both intrigued North American movie audiences over the weekend, but it was a furry-footed holdover that claimed the No. 1 spot: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,†distributed by Warner Brothers, took in a robust $32.9 million, for a new three-week domestic total of $222.7 million.
Quentin Tarantino's R-rated “Django Unchained†(the Weinstein Company) was second, selling $30.7 million in tickets, for a total of $64 million since opening on Christmas Day, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. “Les Misérables†(Universal) was a close third, taking in an estimated $28 million, for a total of about $67.5 million since opening on Christmas; Universal said that girls and women accounted for 67 percent of the weekend audience for this musical.
The comedy “Parental Guidance†(20th Century Fox ) finished in fourth place, selling about $14.8 million in tickets, for a total of $29.6 million since its Christmas opening. The Tom Cruise thriller “Jack Reacher†(Paramount) was fifth, taking in about $14 million, for a two-week total of $44.7 million.
